Is it possible to transform your body in 4 weeks?
Yes, absolutely! How much of a transformation depends on how restrictive you are with your food and how much effort you put in. It involves a combination of healthy eating, resistance exercise and cardiovascular exercise. You need to build muscle and burn fat which are two totally separate processes. Resistance training is needed to build muscle as the more muscle you have, the more fat you will burn when exercising, and also you will keep burning calories when you have finished exercising.
How much weight can I expect to lose?
You can expect to lose between 4 and 8 pounds in a month which is a healthy amount of weight to lose, and you are more likely to keep the weight off. If you try to lose too much weight too quickly (e.g. 10 lbs in 2 weeks) then you will most likely put the weight back on and possibly more. Your body has a weight set point that it will fight to keep at. If you lose lots of weight too quickly, your body will try to return you back to its set point. Losing weight slowly and healthily means your body has time to adjust to a new weight set point.
How toned can I expect to be?
It is possible to see toning in a month if you work out every day although most people see noticeable results within 6 to 8 weeks.
What type of exercise do I need to do and how often?
You should be doing resistance training as well as cardiovascular exercise. You should be aiming to do 6 x 30-minute workouts a week, incorporating both resistance training and cardiovascular exercise.
Resistance training helps the body to burn fat and to build muscle, so that you can burn more calories whilst resting. Yes, you will continue to burn calories even after you finish exercising! Muscle burns lots more calories than fat, and resistance training gives you a higher proportion of muscle on the body than cardio exercise. The more muscle you have, the more fat you will burn.
Cardiovascular exercise forces your heart and lungs to work harder and makes them stronger meaning that your heart won’t have to work so hard all the time. It burns calories and helps to reduce blood pressure.
What should I eat?
Diet is very important if you are wanting to lose weight and transform your body. You need to be burning more calories than you are eating in order to lose weight. You need to burn 3,500 calories to lose 1 lb of fat, therefore you need to cut your calories by 500 a day. In order to lose 2 lb a week you would need to cut your calories by 1000 a day. You can see that this is a large number of calories to cut every day so if cutting 1000 calories only leaves you with 1000 calories or under then aim to cut 500 and to lose 1 lb a week. Do not restrict your calories too much as this will not be sustainable. You should be aiming for a healthy balance of fats, carbohydrates and protein which is sustainable and not a restrictive diet. If it isn’t sustainable, then you’re not doing it right! Try to eat fresh meat, fish, salad, vegetables, fruit, eggs, wholemeal pasta, brown rice, wholemeal bread and oats.
How do I set targets?
It’s best to set small targets, especially if you are trying to transform your body in one month. Set weekly targets of eating healthily – make sure to plan your meals for the week ahead by buying and prepping to keep you on target – and planning your exercise for the week – make sure to fit in at least three resistance workouts along with cardio workouts. Put it in your diary and you are more likely to stick to it. Doing this in small bites makes it much easier to stick to and you will soon start to see results. If you stick to your targets, you should be able to lose 4 – 8 lbs a month.
What results will I see?
Apart from the obvious results such as weight loss and being more toned, you will find that you sleep better, have more energy and that you are stronger. From everyday tasks such as carrying children and shopping to more infrequent tasks such as decorating (painting the ceiling), cleaning the windows and gardening, these will all become much easier and you will find that you’re not aching for days afterwards.
So, to answer the question ‘is it possible to transform your body in 4 weeks?’ Yes, it is but it probably isn’t the best idea to set yourself a target of 4 weeks – you could be setting yourself up for disappointment if you don’t achieve what you want, and what happens after the 4 weeks? A much better way to reach your goals is to think of your journey as a new healthy lifestyle, by eating healthily and exercising regularly – for life! You wouldn’t brush your teeth every day for 4 weeks and then think ’that’s it – my teeth are clean; I don’t need to brush them anymore!’
At W Fitness, we can help with resistance exercise with our 30-minute circuit, cardio exercise, nutritional advice and we even have a booking in system so that you can put your gym session in your diary and remember to come! We offer all this in a female friendly, supportive atmosphere run by qualified personal trainers.
We’d love to help you on your journey to a happier, healthier, fitter you!
How Do I start?
We offer a 1 Month Contract at W Fitness, which is perfect for your 4 Week Transformation! If you’d like to know more about it, or start your 4 Week Transformation today, simply message us to book your free consultation or sign up! Or, you can call us on 0113 345 2550 (if we don’t pick up, please leave a message so we can get back to you!)